Cathy Engelbert WNBA future questioned as insiders fault leadership
ESPN reports WNBA insiders expect 2026 could be Engelbert’s last season despite business gains and a landmark labor deal.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
4 min read
Cathy Engelbert’s WNBA future is under fresh scrutiny as ESPN reports that multiple high-ranking team sources believe the 2026 season will probably be her last as commissioner.
The pressure comes at an awkward moment for the league. The WNBA is celebrating its 30th season, has a new labor agreement, and is riding major business growth, yet ESPN’s conversations with more than 20 people around the league found broad concern about Engelbert’s relationships with players, owners and team officials.
Will Cathy Engelbert remain WNBA commissioner?
Engelbert did not give ESPN a direct answer about how long she plans to stay in the job. She said she is focused on the league’s 30th season, loves the WNBA and is optimistic about its direction.
Several people who spoke to ESPN anonymously, including owners, team executives, players and other industry figures, said they believe Engelbert has delivered on the business side but is struggling with the demands facing the league now. One team executive told ESPN that, during recent flare-ups, it has felt like league leadership was missing from the moment.
Jeff Hunt, a crisis and reputation management specialist who has worked with MLB, ATP, WTA and the PGA Tour, told ESPN that Engelbert is in a difficult position and questioned what she can do next to repair the situation.
What has Engelbert achieved at the WNBA?
Engelbert became the WNBA’s first commissioner in 2019 after more than three decades at Deloitte, where she was CEO. NBA commissioner Adam Silver praised her at the time as a business leader with experience in revenue and management, according to ESPN.
Her tenure has included a pandemic-shortened season in a bubble, a major media rights package worth $3.1 billion, and revenue growth that ESPN described as nearly tenfold. The league is also set to expand to 18 markets by 2030, after years at 12 teams, and its schedule is due to grow to 50 games from 34 when Engelbert arrived.
Engelbert told ESPN the league office has grown from 12 dedicated employees to about 85. The WNBA also hired its first chief marketing officer and chief growth officer during her tenure.
The league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association recently reached a new collective bargaining agreement, the labor contract that sets pay and working rules between the league and players. ESPN reported that the deal includes the first $1 million salaries and the first comprehensive revenue-sharing model in women’s professional sports.
Why are WNBA stakeholders frustrated?
The criticism sharpened last fall when Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier publicly accused Engelbert of negligent leadership and said the WNBA had the worst leadership in the world, according to ESPN. Engelbert later said she was disheartened that players felt the league did not care about them and said she needed to do better if fixes were needed.
ESPN also pointed to continued anger over officiating, player harassment and toxic online discourse. A recent incident involving Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas and Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark drew major attention after Thomas was retroactively assessed a flagrant 2 foul and suspended one game. Thomas said the play was an accident and later said she received death threats and racial slurs.
Thomas publicly criticized Engelbert for staying silent, according to ESPN. Engelbert told ESPN she offered to meet with Thomas and has an open-door policy, while people close to the situation said the two still had not spoken.
Engelbert’s visibility has also become a sore spot. ESPN reported that she missed a June 21 anniversary game marking the league’s first game in 1997 because she was at the U.S. Open golf tournament as a member of the USGA executive committee. A person familiar with the situation told ESPN she also had a family commitment on the day of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction.
Engelbert is scheduled to speak to reporters before the WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago, ESPN reported. For a commissioner who helped build the league’s bigger stage, the next test is whether she can steady it while everyone is watching.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.